Aa
Is this normal...
Hi,
I posted the other day. I have been diagnosed at Hypo and just started Levo. I am taking the generic brand and I started off on 25mcg and then worked my way up too quickly ( took 120mcg on one day ). I then took 4 days off and tried taking 12mcg before I went to bed, which was fine. I also take HC for weak adrenals which I have been on for 6 months. Before I started treating my thyroid I was starting to feel like I did not need the HC any longer. Then when I took too much Levo, I needed a lot more HC. Now I am just dizzy all the time and the Levo seems to make it worse.
Could it be I still have too much levo in my system? I feel dizzy, tried, have a tough time concentrating and feel nauseous. Sometime when I take some HC, the nauseous feeling goes.
My Rt3 ratio is 20..so that seems ok. My TSH is 3.06 and my free T4 was low - bottom 10% of range and my free T3 was in the bottom 30%. So I think I can convert ok.
Is this just all my body getting used to the hormone? I had a great start with the T4 and I am hoping I just took to much and need to give my body another week of very low doses before this levels out.
What do you think?
I posted the other day. I have been diagnosed at Hypo and just started Levo. I am taking the generic brand and I started off on 25mcg and then worked my way up too quickly ( took 120mcg on one day ). I then took 4 days off and tried taking 12mcg before I went to bed, which was fine. I also take HC for weak adrenals which I have been on for 6 months. Before I started treating my thyroid I was starting to feel like I did not need the HC any longer. Then when I took too much Levo, I needed a lot more HC. Now I am just dizzy all the time and the Levo seems to make it worse.
Could it be I still have too much levo in my system? I feel dizzy, tried, have a tough time concentrating and feel nauseous. Sometime when I take some HC, the nauseous feeling goes.
My Rt3 ratio is 20..so that seems ok. My TSH is 3.06 and my free T4 was low - bottom 10% of range and my free T3 was in the bottom 30%. So I think I can convert ok.
Is this just all my body getting used to the hormone? I had a great start with the T4 and I am hoping I just took to much and need to give my body another week of very low doses before this levels out.
What do you think?
Hi,
Thank you. Sorry, I meant great than :). You are right about patience. It is such a pain to sit around and deal with hypo symptoms. I will stay on track....-j
Thank you. Sorry, I meant great than :). You are right about patience. It is such a pain to sit around and deal with hypo symptoms. I will stay on track....-j
Antibodies can vary wildly, even intraday, so your results are not unusual. The first result, 46, is actually positive, I believe. I think you'll find that the reference range is LESS-than 34, not greater-than. We often see antibody figures in the hundreds or even thousands, so I would definitely categorize yours as "borderline". However, there are medical professionals that will argue that antibodies ought to be zero, period. I'd keep an eye on those for a while. Thyroid meds do not reduce antibody counts, they simply treat the symptoms.
The whole endocrine system is interdependent, so changes in one part (like increased progesterone) will cause changes in other parts. If your thyroid function is inadequate, adrenals will try to "make up" for that with increased activity. Adrenal excess often leads to adrenal fatigue after sufficient time.
If I were you, I'd follow my doctor's advice. Take 25 mcg every day and do not change that in any way. It takes levo four to six weeks to build up to stable levels in your blood. Until then, you do not know what its ultimate effect is going to be. At first, while your levels are building, you will probably require pretty close to your pre-levo dose of HC. As the weeks go by, you might find that this has to be tapered off as FT4 level builds.
Thyroid meds have to be changed in very small increments. An increase of 25 mcg per day once every four to five weeks is considered maximum for most people. At lower doses, 25 mcg might even be too much of a change since percentage-wise it's a much bigger increase than at higher doses. Your situation is more complicated due to the HC, so I'd move especially carefully if I were you...no big jumps or you will lose all track of what's going on. Take the 25 mcg your doctor prescribed, titrate the HC over the next four or five weeks. When all that is stable, retest, evaluate your symptoms, and see if levo needs to be adjusted.
I notice you had cut back to 12.5 mcg. If you feel better starting at 12.5 than at 25, I wouldn't think that would be a problem, either. However, stay on the same dose until retesting or your labs (and symptoms) will end up hopelessly confused. Adjusting thyroid meds to proper dosages takes time and patience.
The whole endocrine system is interdependent, so changes in one part (like increased progesterone) will cause changes in other parts. If your thyroid function is inadequate, adrenals will try to "make up" for that with increased activity. Adrenal excess often leads to adrenal fatigue after sufficient time.
If I were you, I'd follow my doctor's advice. Take 25 mcg every day and do not change that in any way. It takes levo four to six weeks to build up to stable levels in your blood. Until then, you do not know what its ultimate effect is going to be. At first, while your levels are building, you will probably require pretty close to your pre-levo dose of HC. As the weeks go by, you might find that this has to be tapered off as FT4 level builds.
Thyroid meds have to be changed in very small increments. An increase of 25 mcg per day once every four to five weeks is considered maximum for most people. At lower doses, 25 mcg might even be too much of a change since percentage-wise it's a much bigger increase than at higher doses. Your situation is more complicated due to the HC, so I'd move especially carefully if I were you...no big jumps or you will lose all track of what's going on. Take the 25 mcg your doctor prescribed, titrate the HC over the next four or five weeks. When all that is stable, retest, evaluate your symptoms, and see if levo needs to be adjusted.
I notice you had cut back to 12.5 mcg. If you feel better starting at 12.5 than at 25, I wouldn't think that would be a problem, either. However, stay on the same dose until retesting or your labs (and symptoms) will end up hopelessly confused. Adjusting thyroid meds to proper dosages takes time and patience.
Hi,
He told me to take 25mcg of T4 (generic levo ) and start weaning from the HC at the same time. I tried that and go so confused because I could not tell what drug was causing which changes. Tricky. I do know that when I take less thyroid hormone, I need HC, it seems to be propping my thyroid up somehow. When I take thyroid hormones, and an HC dos that is too high, I get weird motion sensations that I would not really describe as dizziness..
My labs are: TSH 3.05 ( range .27 to 4.2)
Free T3: 4.6 (range 3.1-6.8)
Free T4: 14.5 ( range 12 - 22 )
In March my TPO antibodies were 46 with a range of >34 = negative
Then in August they were 26.4 with the same range...odd to have gone down since I did not start treating thyroid until the end of Sept.
I also have low progesterone and was pregnant earlier this year. When I was pregnant, my TSH went down to 1.36 from 2.93 in March. Why would that be, other than more progesterone?
Thanks!
Jen
He told me to take 25mcg of T4 (generic levo ) and start weaning from the HC at the same time. I tried that and go so confused because I could not tell what drug was causing which changes. Tricky. I do know that when I take less thyroid hormone, I need HC, it seems to be propping my thyroid up somehow. When I take thyroid hormones, and an HC dos that is too high, I get weird motion sensations that I would not really describe as dizziness..
My labs are: TSH 3.05 ( range .27 to 4.2)
Free T3: 4.6 (range 3.1-6.8)
Free T4: 14.5 ( range 12 - 22 )
In March my TPO antibodies were 46 with a range of >34 = negative
Then in August they were 26.4 with the same range...odd to have gone down since I did not start treating thyroid until the end of Sept.
I also have low progesterone and was pregnant earlier this year. When I was pregnant, my TSH went down to 1.36 from 2.93 in March. Why would that be, other than more progesterone?
Thanks!
Jen
What was your prescribed starting dose, and did your doctor give you any direction as to how to increase? Or any insight into how the levo was going to interact with the HC?
It's always best to start out low and increase slowly, especially if you are over 50, have been hypo for more than a few months, or have any history fo cardiac arrhythmia. It's best to choose your starting dose, take the same dose consistently for four to five weeks, repeat bloodwork, evaluate symptoms and adjust the dose from there, then repeat. Your increases were huge jumps as far as thyroid meds are concerned.
Thyroid meds can be taken at any time of day that's best for you as long as you take them on an empty stomach (no food or drink for three to four hours prior).
Do you have FT3, FT4 and TSH along with reference ranges? If so, please post.
It's always best to start out low and increase slowly, especially if you are over 50, have been hypo for more than a few months, or have any history fo cardiac arrhythmia. It's best to choose your starting dose, take the same dose consistently for four to five weeks, repeat bloodwork, evaluate symptoms and adjust the dose from there, then repeat. Your increases were huge jumps as far as thyroid meds are concerned.
Thyroid meds can be taken at any time of day that's best for you as long as you take them on an empty stomach (no food or drink for three to four hours prior).
Do you have FT3, FT4 and TSH along with reference ranges? If so, please post.
Hi,
I actually started with 25...and stayed with that for 3 days. Then I moved up to 50 and then 70 and then 120. I then took 5 days off. I just restarted at 12mcg ( 1/2 a pill ) and have been doing that for two days. That seems to be better. It is hard to get the balance of HC versus Levo...goodness. Now that I am on 12mcg, when I take my HC I feel like my thyroid meds are blunted...then when the HC wears off a little...I feel great, then when I am due for my next dose, I feel a little odd. I am currently dosing 7.5,5,5,2.5. I take the 12mcg before bed..I prefer this.
I tried Armour 1/4 grain..and the T3 is too much and there is not enough T4 in it so I feel a lot more hypo about 2 hours after I take it.
I actually started with 25...and stayed with that for 3 days. Then I moved up to 50 and then 70 and then 120. I then took 5 days off. I just restarted at 12mcg ( 1/2 a pill ) and have been doing that for two days. That seems to be better. It is hard to get the balance of HC versus Levo...goodness. Now that I am on 12mcg, when I take my HC I feel like my thyroid meds are blunted...then when the HC wears off a little...I feel great, then when I am due for my next dose, I feel a little odd. I am currently dosing 7.5,5,5,2.5. I take the 12mcg before bed..I prefer this.
I tried Armour 1/4 grain..and the T3 is too much and there is not enough T4 in it so I feel a lot more hypo about 2 hours after I take it.
Did you go directly from 25 mcg to 120 mcg? If not, how long did it take you to go from 25 to 120? Please go into more detail about how long you were at each interim dose.
also..when I first got my labs at the start of this year I had a very slight raise in TPO antibodies and on my last tests I do not. The only difference is I was on HC for the last tests. With weak adrenals, do you think TPO antibodies are brought down with HC? Or am I just early Hashis?
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community
We tapped the CDC for information on what you need to know about radiation exposure
Endocrinologist Mark Lupo, MD, answers 10 questions about thyroid disorders and how to treat them
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
